Samsung SmartThings and Leviton join forces in the name of a "powerful yet affordable" home automation bundle-- one featuring a SmartThings, Hub, Leviton VRMX Z-Wave dimmer and a Leviton VRS15 Z-Wave switch.

Dubbed the STKIT-000, the package is ideal for customers wanting to dip their toes into the possibilities of connected home devices through smart lighting control. The SmartThings Hub carries both Z-Wave and ZigBee chipsets, allowing integration with a wide variety of devices, as well as control through 3rd party services such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

Of course integration with Leviton control devices comes as standard, and the use of mesh networking technologies allows for installations in larger homes with dozens of integrated attachment devices for whole house automation.

Russound announces the A2100-- a compact digital amplifier designed for distributed audio systems or facilitating the use of additional speakers in large rooms or outdoor zones.

It is stable to 4-ohms, and can be used with two pairs of 8-ohm speakers with 100W per channel. It can also be bridged into mono mode with 225W output (8-ohm). Buffered line outputs enable installers to daisy-chain multiple A2100 amps, allowing near limitless extension of the audio chain.

Custom installers get a number of power-on options-- always on, signal-sensing or 12V trigger, meaning it can be integrated in a variety of scenarios. It uses just 0.5W of power in always-on mode, and the 12V trigger output can be used to control other devices, such as additional daisy-chained or bridged A2100 units.

Microsoft quietly announced virtual reality plans at the tail end of its recent Surface event, as a number of partners will be selling headsets taking advantage of the VR and holographic capabilities of Windows 10.

The partners in question include HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus and Acer. Very little is known about the actual headsets, but Microsoft says the devices feature "inside-out" tracking sensors able to handle 6 degrees of movement freedom, eliminating the need for the external cameras or laser systems used by the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.

Meridian Audio continues turning into a quasi-dealer through a partnership with Cinema-ATS allowing it to add the latter's acoustic treatment solutions to its home cinema product portfolio.

Cinema-ATS offers a range of acoustic treatment solutions promising to address the three acoustic "R's," or the most common problems found in home cinema audio-- resonance, reverberation and reflection. One such solution is Cinema-ATS Complete, combining scattering panels to optimise reverberation and reflection with the Multipanel, a dual-purpose absorber tackling resonance.

The panels are just 50mm deep, allowing for installation in a wider range of projects.

KanexPro announces more international distribution-- its products are now available from select distributors in a number of European countries, namely France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Poland.

The company sells connectivity products allowing installers to broadcast, extend, split or multiply HD signals in any environment. FVS and Comil handle Kanex products in France, while Exhibo takes care in Italy, Dystron in Poland, Media-Sys in Spain, AV Distribution in Switzerland and Atempo in Turkey.

Control4 users get another voice control option-- following the recent announcement of Alexa integration Google Home and Pixel products are next, via the power of IFTTT and a Chowmain-developed driver.

Such integration is impressive, considering a Google voice-recognition API will only be available come December 2016. However it is possible through IFTTT and its Google Assistant "channel." The Chowmain IFTTT driver for Control4 allows Google Home and Pixel devices to pass through commands and variables to Control4 home automation systems, meaning users can control connected devices through voice commands.

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